toronto airport

Toronto Pearson International Airport has a mysterious accidental vegetable garden

Toronto's Pearson International Airport sees some 160,000 passengers per day during its busiest season, but amid the rush of eager jet-setters, something far slower, more hushed and quite magical is happening outside one of the terminals.

Anyone who takes a moment to (literally) stop and smell the roses outside of Pearson's Terminal 1 will find, instead of flowers, a random tomato plant that has managed to thrive in one of the airport's outdoor planters.

As staff wrote in a charming post on X last week, no one knows exactly how or when the bush seeded there. But, since it's made an appearance, it's become a bit of an obsession for some team members, even earning itself a name: Tommy the Tomato Plant.

"We have a few dedicated employees with a green thumb who are making sure Tommy is cared for, including being well-hydrated during this bout of late summer heat," a representative from YYZ told blogTO over email, adding that the plant had just had "a nice cool drink of water" at the time of their message.

Further public updates show that Tommy is growing by the day thanks to all of the love, and has started to sprout fruit — about two dozen green tomatoes at present, the team says.

They add that when the tomatoes ripen, the hub will let those who've been tending to Tommy divide the veggies amongst themselves "to make anything from pasta sauce to bruschetta, or even to save the seeds to plant next spring!"

Proof that life indeed finds a way, Tommy can be visited at Terminal 1, while updates on his progress can be found on the airport's social media pages.

Lead photo by

The Bold Bureau/Shutterstock|@TorontoPearson/X


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in Travel

How to have the ultimate fall colour experience in Ontario

There's a legendary hidden staircase hand-carved into the side of an Ontario mountain

The second oldest small town in Ontario is also an adorable village

There's a trail in Ontario lined with countless hand-painted birdhouses

Airlines' appeal against Canadian passenger protections quashed in court

WestJet apologizes to customers for 'a tough summer'

This is when fall colours are expected to peak in Ontario this year

Future of Toronto's Billy Bishop airport now uncertain